Enrollment
620
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 530048000595
Frontier Middle School — Graham, WA
Federal NCES profile for Frontier Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 11
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 77
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Bethel School District · Washington
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.2%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Frontier Middle School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Frontier Middle School reports 620 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 40% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 24% below the Washington average and 34% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 9.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bethel School District spends $18,928 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 24.6% from local sources (property taxes), 66.9% from the state, and 8.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), calculated from 3 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Frontier Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.3:1 | ▲ 25% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.2% | ▼ 24% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 620 | top 81% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
34.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 24% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.3:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 90% in Washington — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
9.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,928
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 78 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 620 Top 81% in Washington — larger than 19% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 22.3:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.2% -24% vs state
NCES ID 530048000595
Student demographics
White 55.8%
Hispanic or Latino 16.8%
Two or More 15.2%
African American 4.7%
Asian 3.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.6%
Largest group: White at 55.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 9.4%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 78
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bethel School District, which includes Frontier Middle School.
$18,928
Per student
-18%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 24.6%
State 66.9%
Federal 8.5%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,087
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,787
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,688
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 857
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 766
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
Similar middle schools in Graham
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Frontier Middle School
How many students attend Frontier Middle School?
Frontier Middle School has 620 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Graham, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Frontier Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Frontier Middle School is 22.3:1, which is 25% higher than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 40% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Frontier Middle School?
34.2% of students at Frontier Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Frontier Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Frontier Middle School is White at 55.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Graham, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Frontier Middle School?
Frontier Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.